Swastikas sprayed inside and outside of Atlanta-area high school

Swastikas found throughout public school in Roswell, Georgia, also on school grounds.

Marcy Oster/JTA, 07/02/19 16:45

Swastika

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Swastikas were spray painted on the inside and outside a suburban Atlanta public high school.

The blue swastikas were painted on the outside of the Centennial public high school in Roswell, Georgia, the Atlanta Jewish Times and other local publications reported.

The vandalism was discovered by school employees when they arrived at the building on Monday morning. Swastikas were found on a bus, the main building and entrance, a trailer for band, signs, the weight room, and the stadium areas.

In a letter sent to parents of students, the local community and posted on social media on Tuesday, Centennial Principal Anthony Newbold wrote that “I am especially disgusted that this perpetrator or group of perpetrators painted a swastika, a historic and extreme emblem of hatred, on our school.”

He said he had already met with several rabbis in the community to formulate a “unified response” to the incident. He called on parents to talk to their children about the consequences of such behavior.

“Let me be extremely clear, graffiti and school vandalism will not be tolerated and our community rejects the hatred these symbols represent. Be assured that as Centennial Knights, we find these actions offensive and completely against our beliefs as an open and accepting school community,” Newbold also wrote.

The Anti-Defamation League told the Atlanta Jewish Times that it had been in contact with the school and the police.

The state of Georgia requires students learn about the Holocaust, but the state does not have a hate crimes law.